STATE SCHOOL BOARD SELECTS NEW STATE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT
LANSING, Mich. — The state Board of Education last Wednesday selected
Mike Flanagan, 55, as Michigan's Superintendent of Public Instruction,
reported Booth Newspapers. The board's approval came in a 5-1 vote,
with two members abstaining.

Flanagan was one of three finalists for the position, and he was
publicly supported by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. Three Democrats and two
Republicans voted in favor of Flanagan's appointment. Flanagan said his
background with education groups and the governor would help him
achieve his goals. "I think we could develop policy in a way that isn't
left-hand, right-hand," he said.

The new superintendent replaces former education chief Tom Watkins, who
resigned in January following public pressure from Gov. Jennifer
Granholm to leave the post. Flanagan worked as an advisor to Gov.
Granholm in 2003, and he has served as the superintendent of the Wayne
County intermediate school district and of Farmington Public Schools.
At the time of his appointment, he was executive director of the
Michigan Association of School Administrators.

K-12 SCHOOLS DODGE CUTS; CUTS TO UNIVERSITIES COULD BE ELIMINATED
LANSING, Mich. — Improved forecasts for state revenue show that
Michigan's K-12 education funding will avoid cuts this year, and a
planned $30 million cut for the state's higher education systems will
be reduced, according to the Lansing State Journal.

In the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, the state's general
fund will receive nearly $45 million more than last year, while the
school aid fund will receive about $28 million less. The state will be
able to avoid a midyear cut in school aid because of a budget buffer
and 1,300 fewer students than expected statewide. "The economy is
moving along sideways, the way the auto industry is," said state
Treasurer Jay Rising.

The extra state income will reduce by $16.5 million a planned $30
million cut to colleges and universities. The remainder of the cut
might be forgone if the general fund balance at year end allows.

GRADUATING TEACHERS LOOK TO OTHER STATES FOR JOBS
DETROIT — A number of Michigan college officials and recent graduates
of Michigan teaching schools have reported that there are few in-state
teaching job opportunities, according to The Detroit News. As a result,
many new graduates of Michigan teacher colleges are looking for posts
in other states, particularly in the Southeast and Southwest.

"The job market is not what it was a few years ago," said Bob Thomas,
Oakland University's director of career services, according to The
News. "There's still this tight market in school districts."

Eastern Michigan University Corporate Relations Manager Barbara Jones
remarked on the attendance of out-of-state recruiters at a major
teacher career fair held at the university. "I had districts tell me
they were here because the economy in Michigan was flat and they
thought they'd come here and recruit our students," Jones said,
according to The News.

One sector with job openings for Michigan teachers is charter schools,
Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan
Quisenberry told The News. In the last 11 years, student enrollment at
charters has increased from 1,200 to 82,000, and the number of charter
schools has increased from 12 to 216. "Because of new school growth and
existing schools' planned growth, that provides annual opportunities
for adding staff," Quisenberry said. "It does create an opportunity in
the tighter market."

PLAINTIFFS PUSH TO REOPEN ARKANSAS SCHOOL FUNDING SUIT
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Forty-seven Arkansas school districts have asked the
Arkansas Supreme Court to reopen a school funding case that had
appeared to be settled, reported CNN.com.

The case was decided in 2002. As described by CNN.com, the court found
that in Arkansas, "State government had a constitutional duty to
provide a properly funded school system, with money shared equally
among districts and their students." By 2004, legislative changes to
school funding had apparently satisfied the court's mandate, but the 47
districts asked the state supreme court last week to reopen the case on
grounds that the state Legislature had failed since 2004 to maintain
school spending as a legislative priority.

CNN.com reported that in asking the court to take up the case again,
David Matthews, one of the attorneys for the districts, argued, "If you
don't take up that mantle, you need to know that education reform will
be solely at the whim of the Legislature." The state, in turn, defended
its current system. "The system that is in place right now is
constitutional," Arkansas Chief Deputy Attorney General Timothy Gauger
said, according to CNN.com. The state argued that districts unhappy
with the Legislature's recent appropriations needed to file a new
lawsuit, rather than plead for a reopening of the previous one.

CNN.com reported that 17 other school districts filed challenges to the
Arkansas Legislature's school spending, but did so in a separate case.

Mackinac Center for Public Policy, "The Six Habits of Fiscally
Responsible Public School Districts," December 2002
http://www.mackinac.org/4891

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION APPROVES PRIVATE LOAN CONSOLIDATION
DETROIT — The Detroit News reported that the U.S. Department of
Education last week explicitly endorsed allowing student loan
consolidations for students who are still enrolled in school and who
have government-backed student loans with private lenders. Such loan
consolidations are already allowed for students who are enrolled in
school and who received loans directly from the government, but federal
policy had been unclear about whether students with loans from private
lenders enjoyed the same privilege.

Loan consolidation requires students to forgo a standard six-month
grace period before beginning repayment after graduation. Still, new
student loan rates, which will be announced on July 1, may rise to 5
percent, while the current interest rate of 2.77 percent would be
available to students who consolidate their loans now. "Particularly
for students who are in graduate school, people with a high balance, it
would make a difference," said U.S. Assistant Secretary for
Postsecondary Education Sally Stroup, according to The News. Students
must submit loan consolidation applications to private lenders by June
30.

The News also reported the view of Bob Shireman, director of The
Institute for College Access and Success at the University of
California at Berkeley. Shireman argued that although the government's
announcement could help borrowers, it could potentially increase
expenses to the government, as well.

BURNLEY WITHDRAWS FROM FLORIDA SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT BID
DETROIT — Detroit Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Kenneth
Burnley withdrew his name from the list of candidates for
superintendent of the Hillsborough County, Fla., school district, the
Detroit Free Press reported. He made the move last week on the night
before the school district's board voted to fill the position.

According to the Free Press, Burnley said he withdrew after reflecting
on the long hours the new post would have required. The Hillsborough
County district includes the city of Tampa and has a total enrollment
of 202,000 students. The school board reportedly voted to award the
superintendent position to the district's chief facilities officer.

MICHIGAN EDUCATION DIGEST is a service of Michigan Education
Report (http://www.educationreport.org),
a quarterly newspaper
with a circulation of 130,000 published by the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy (http://www.mackinac.org),
a private,
nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational institute.